About Bridget
The Australian bush is my inspiration. As a migrant I am fascinated by its wildness and am drawn to places that appear untouched. I have a home studio in White Gum Valley (Fremantle) but frequently spend time in the bush, walking, camping and painting what I see in my sketchbook. As an arts educator I am driven to constantly explore new avenues and ways of working, this enriches my work and keeps me connected to community.
Although principally a studio painter and printmaker, my time spent outdoors is the driving force behind my work, it enables me to commit places to memory. These memories are amalgamated, distilled and translated into paint or print once back in my studio.
My principal methods of working are acrylic painting and printmaking. When painting I am seduced by colour and spend hours mixing my own from just a few tubes of paint. I am astonished by the colours of the Australian landscape; they differ so much from those in the Europe that I grew up in. As a printmaker I explore the textures of the bush through the organic methods of monotype and collagraphy focussing on mark making, tone, layering and sometimes collage. I embrace the element of unpredictability that these techniques present, often working back into my prints by hand resulting in unique prints that cannot be repeated.
I find beauty in humble views such as a twisted shrub on a rock and the play of late afternoon light on branches. I care deeply for the environment and have a particular reverence for trees, they are the figures in my work on the stage of this vast land. I seek to portray the Australian bush in its imperfect beauty and endeavour to inspire others to see the beauty in our untidy bush and in turn to protect it.